SEQUIM — Warm, beautiful weather Saturday made for some blisteringly fast times, especially in the 5K and helped create a little bit of history at the Sequim Railroad Bridge 5K/10K.
For the first time in recent history, and perhaps the first time ever, a woman was the overall 10K winner.
Sarah Paquet of Bothell put in a ferocious 10K time of 38 minutes, 43.26 seconds, a pace of 6:15 per mile. She won by nearly 45 seconds and beat the second-place woman by seven minutes.
Adrian Clifford of Sequim was the fastest man in the 10K, finishing second to Paquet in a time of 39:27.58. Taylor Lee of Sequim was second at 40:00.11 and Michael Higuera of Port Angeles third at 40:20.85.
“That girl really took off,” Clifford said after the race.
“She crushed me,” Higuera added.
Sarah Paquet of Bothell was the women’s winner and the overall winner in the Sequim Railroad Bridge Run 10K. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
Paquet ran in the Elwha Bridge run and had a good race in horrendously cold conditions, winning the women’s first-place medal and finishing third overall. But, she really showed her running dominance in better conditions in Sequim.
She needed to be helped off the bridge after winning the race, but a few minutes later she felt fine. She credited the training she was receiving from Club Northwest in Seattle for her win.
“We’ve been having good workouts,” she said.
Second for the women was Katherine Braun of Port Angeles in 45:32.28 and third was Jennifer Mathews of Belair in 47:26.02.
Conditions were good for this year’s race. It was sunny and warm during the start of the race, though it clouded up and a wind picked up at the finish of the 10K. The Sequim Railroad Bridge run is part of the Run the Peninsula race series put on by the Port Angeles Marathon Association, which also manages the North Olympic Discovery Marathon in June between Port Angeles and Blyn.
The event is made possible by title sponsors Peninsula Daily News and the Sequim Gazette, presenting sponsors Sound Community Bank and Olympic Medical Center.
Proceeds go to several local organizations, including the Peninsula Trails Coalition and the Dungeness River Nature Center.
In the 5K, the men’s winner was a familiar name in local running circles, 18-year-old Sawyer Roark of Silverdale, who put in a solid time of 17:23.55, just a few seconds behind last year’s top time.
Second- through fourth places were all 16-year-old runners from Maple Valley. Second was Owen Armstrong in 18:01.73, third was Dylan Zehr in 19:21.09 and fourth was Oliver Westendorf in 19:21.67. Fifth was another teenager, Johnathan Tipton, 15, of Sequim (20:09.72).
Amy Schmitz of Bainbridge won the women’s 5K in 20:31.39 (sixth overall). Though she thought she had a slow race, she won by more than four minutes over the second-place woman, Kayla Keller of Sequim, who clocked in at 24:49.84. Pollyanna Kasten of Port Angeles was third in 25:09.64.
“I had a spasm over the last mile and that really slowed me down,” Schmitz said.
The Run the Peninsula series also includes the Elwha Bridge Run, which took place in February, the NODM marathon, the Spruce Railroad Run at Lake Crescent on Oct. 4 and the Jamestown Glow Run in Blyn on Dec. 6.
Full results can be found at this website after the race: https://tinyurl.com/2025railroadbridge.
Top 10 finishes include:
Sequim Railroad Bridge Run
Saturday, April 27
10K men — Adrian Clifford, Sequim, first, 39:27.58 (second overall); Taylor Lee, Sequim, second, 40:00.11; Michael Higuera, PA, third, 40:20.85; Todd Clayton, PA, fourth, 42:14.76; Derek Burke, Centralia, fifth, 42:36.44; Jeffrey Shaffar, PA, sixth, 43:41.26; Andrew Gorbett, Forks, seventh, 44:54.46; Matt Dale, Bremerton, eighth, 44:55.68; Chad Boehm, Sequim, ninth, 46:40.01; Todd Hackett, Dunedin, Fla., 10th, 47:12.69.
10K women — Sarah Paquet, Bothell, first, 38:43.26 (first overall); Katherine Braun, PA, second, 45:32.28; Jennifer Mathews, Belfair, third, 47:26.02; Madeline Ford, Portland, Ore., fourth, 48:47.09; Darcy Schultz, Sequim, fifth, 49:17.51; Rachel King, Tahuya, sixth, 50:26.7; Jenae Dale, Bremerton, seventh, 50:45.56; Cecile Burleson, Silverdale, eighth, 51:53.86; Chelsea Bush, Poulsbo, ninth, 52:34.12; Kelli Lachappelle, Snohomish, 53:31.95.
5K men — Sawyer Roark, Silverdale, first, 17:23.55; Owen Armstrong, Maple Valley, second, 18:01.73; Dylan Zehr, Maple Valley, third, 19:21.09; Oliver Westerndorf, fourth, Maple Valley, 19:21.67; Johnathan Tipton, Sequim, fifth, 20:09.72; Petty Sharpes, Sequim, sixth, 20:36.16; Joshua Wakefield, Sequim, seventh, 21:10.68; Christopher Roark, Silverdale, 21:23.99; Jesse Goodman, PA, 10th, 21:55.96.
5K women — Amy Schmitz, Bainbridge, first, 20:31.39; Kayla Keller, Sequim, second, 24:49.84; Pollyanna Kasten, PA, third, 25:09.64; Jennifer Dixon, Poulsbo, fourth, 25:17.03; Arwen Osborne, Sequim, fifth, 25:35.23; Angela Hanson, Bainbridge, sixth, 25:43.79; Lindsey Myers, Brinnon, seventh, 26:59.37; Melinda Roark, Silverdale, eighth, 27:34.41; Rebecca Gundersen, PA, ninth, 27:54.62; Emily Fitting, PA, 10th, 27:58.56.
